SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - SEPTEMBER 27, 2013
The Minnesota Somali are in the news, again. The Christian Science Monitor identified two men from the Twin Cities involved in the terrorist attack on the Kenyan shopping mall. The terrorist organization al-Shabab has become transnational exposing the Twin Cities to risks of Somali terrorism. Al-Shabab has a 40-minute recruiting video called “Minnesota Martyrs.” Investigation of the terror group, its recruiting and fund raising is a priority for the FBI's Minneapolis office.
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community in the U.S. and has been a prime source of young men traveling to Somalia to join al-Shabab. The Mall of America in Bloomington has stepped up security following the Somali attack in Kenya.
Dark implications -- letters to the GF Herald hinted Minnesota might be returning to the days of “Spendy Wendy,” an unsuccessful governor in the 1970s. A Herald editorial wisely noted that Gov. Dayton needs “to keep the crime rate down, the lakes and rivers clean and the test scores high,” and do it “as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.”
The Forum reported football analyst Lee Corso walked out of the Fargo Theatre wearing a huge buffalo head and walking a bison calf on a leash, yes, really. A fitting end to the ESPN GameDay show in Fargo. Residents got their money’s worth and the show’s producer proclaimed Fargo one of the “all-time best spots” for the program.
On a day of colorful excitement, something small, furry and horrid briefly invaded the GameDay show. It was the Troll, the “Ugliest traveling trophy in college football.” The Troll returned to Moorhead for another year after Concordia defeated St. Olaf. The show’s staff are still puzzling over the nicknames Cobbers and Oles.
A handful of politically correct academics used the NCAA as a lever to topple the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo, but there is huge latent support for the name. Drive about 35 miles northwest of Grand Forks to the Pisek farm of true believer Mike Dvorak. He has a roadside display with large letters spelling “Home of the fighting Sioux,” a banished sign that was once atop the Engelstad Arena in GF. Dvorak paid $8,000 for the letters at an auction. His 50-foot display is striking -- the letters are mounted on a white background and backlit by green LED lights.
Let’s hope the beaver fares better. Bennett Brien is the Belcourt artist who created the iconic and popular Fighting Sioux logo. Minot State has unveiled a new sculpture designed by Brien depicting the beaver.
The USDA may be the ultimate American bureaucracy, although it’s hard to beat the Defense Department or intelligence services. The USDA extends its fingers into nearly every aspect of rural America. The Lake Traverse Reservation on the ND/SD border is celebrating a new administrative center financed with $31 million from the USDA, the largest Rural Development Community Facilities loan in SD history.
South Dakota is fading in the rearview mirror. For much of the last 50 years incomes in SD exceeded those in ND. Census information for 2012 indicates median household income in ND is $53,600 while it’s $48,400 in SD. The median earnings of ND men who work full-time is $45,900, while the SD comparable is $40,700. Median household income for Minnesota is still above both neighbors, but mired at $59,000.
We’re not exactly sure what she meant, but Sen. Heidi Heitkamp called the Keystone XL the “Kim Kardashian of energy.” Here is an attempted translation: Heitkamp believes the pipeline has become an irrational symbol in the carbon debate, “when it has nothing to do with carbon.” She says the pipeline is about a safe and efficient way of moving oil.
Wow -- it happened so fast! The oil and gas industry now makes a $25 billion annual contribution to ND’s economy, about double the $12 billion value of crops and livestock. However, it’s not quite that simple -- a sizable part of oil and gas revenue leaves the state while ag revenues are largely spent within the state.
“If there was ever a time for North Dakota to make a bold move, the time is now.” -- What is Chuck Klosterman writing about? Time to construct a first-class stadium in ND. Why? So NDSU can move to the top tier of NCAA Division I football and, as you know, ND has Bakken oil money. Klosterman is a ND native and a former Forum writer now employed by the NYT and ESPN. In a long ramble in the Forum, he dismissed what he considered provincial reasons against the move. This will not be the last of extreme ideas for using the Bakken wealth.
“Fargo-Moorhead . . . had better pay attention to Bismarck’s ambitious plans.” -- A Forum editorial warned Fargo “should get on with" plans for a new convention center, because Bismarck was preparing to steal their lunch.
“I’m still paying off my Lane Bryant credit card.” -- The author of the Forum’s “fat column” took a new tack. She no longer discusses her determination to lose weight. Her new motto is to accept herself as she is: “I’m no fashionista, but I do believe women should dress for who they are, not who they think they should be. Big girls like color, too, and I’m no longer afraid to show it.”
It’s unusual -- famed basketball coach Phil Jackson wrote an article for the “Mansion” section of the Wall Street Journal (“Where the Zen Master Finds Inner Peace”). Although Jackson went to high school and college in ND, the state was never mentioned in the article, which is about his summer home in western Montana. When Jackson was young, his parents were Assemblies of God ministers in Montana -- his father preached on Sunday morning and his mother on Sunday evening.
Find fun and adventure in ND. “Authorities said that alcohol was involved in the incident:” Quite an understatement -- the ND Highway Patrol in Watford City described the death of a 29-year-old Colorado man who tumbled from the sunroof of a pickup and was run over by the vehicle.
What’s happening? The number of self-identified Scandinavians and Germans in Minnesota is slipping, while those in ND are rising. Is there a leak?
Are you in the mood to hear “Lady of Spain” played by an 83-year-old accordionist? Too bad. You missed Dick Contino at Mandan H.S. last Sunday -- his fifth annual show there. You may remember Dick -- he appeared 48 times on the Ed Sullivan Show.
DakotaBeacon